What does Rep. Stefanik think of Trump's border wall?
A government shutdown, a Republican congresswoman who wants it to end
Immigration and U.S. borders lie at the center of this fight over the government shutdown and we wanted to look at where our congresswoman, Elise Stefanik, stands on all this. Brian Mann joined Martha Foley for a conversation during the Eight O'clock Hour.
Martha Foley: Congresswoman Stefanik, she’s a Republican. She voted in December 2018 on a temporary spending bill that included money to build part of President Trump’s wall. She has also voted with Democrats now twice to reopen the government, backing spending bills that didn’t include money for the project. So what’s the takeaway here?
Brian Mann: Well, let me start by saying we really wanted to ask the Congresswoman about this, about how the shutdown is affecting her district, government workers, people who rely on federal services. She declined to talk with us. She did send us a prepared statement.
Rep. Elise Stefanik: I believe strongly that our government should stay open, and our border should be secured. These two policies should not be mutually exclusive. As we speak, there are Northern border patrol agents in my district working without pay due to the shutdown. Under no circumstance should working people in our country lose out on a paycheck because Congress can’t work together, which is why I have been a consistent vote to keep the government open throughout my career.
On the border wall, Stefanik says it's "not the best model"
Martha: Okay, she says pretty clearly that she doesn’t like this tactic, the President using a government shutdown to negotiate. What does she think of the border wall idea itself? It’s really popular with a lot of her Republican voters.
Brian: Right, but Stefanik has in the past spoken pretty passionately against this idea. I found this exchange back in 2017 between Stefanik and a constituent, recorded at a forum held by Mountain Lake PBS. It’s kind of a long exchange, but I think it’s important to hear her full thinking.
Rep. Elise Stefanik: "I've always said that when I disagree with the President, I would say so. I think it's not going to happen that Mexico is going to pay for the wall. I don't think that's realistic... You have mountain ranges, you have water... I don't think a wall is the best model... We live in a government that has separation of powers. Congress has the power of the purse. We control the appropriations process. So I do think you'll hear independent voices."
Brian: Again Stefanik did vote last month to pay for part of the border wall, but she sounds pretty skeptical there in 2017. And she’s voted with Democrats to end the shutdown, without funding the wall. Hopefully as this shutdown grinds on we'll have a chance to talk with her and get a sense for where she's at on all this now.
Stefanik speaks out on twitter about white supremacy, apparently commenting on GOP colleague
Martha: One last question, Brian. Last week, the Congresswoman tweeted kind of out of the blue talking about her opposition white supremacy and white nationalism. What’s that about? Is it connected to this debate over immigration and the border?
Brian: It is in a way, we think. It appears that she was tweeting about comments made by one of her Republican colleagues, Iowa Congressman Steve King, who spoke in an interview with the New York Times defending the concepts of white nationalism and white supremacy. King was one of the early supporters of a border wall, an early opponent of illegal immigration but also someone who wants to curb a lot of legal immigration. Many of President Trump’s ideas have mirrored those of Congressman King. In her tweet, Stefanik pushed back against this idea that has some currency in the conservative movement now. Here’s what she said:
Rep. Elise Stefanik: “We must unequivocally condemn the ideology of white supremacy and white nationalism. It is abhorrent and heinous and has no place in our discourse.”
Brian: I should say, Martha, that this issue again is something we tried to ask the Congresswoman questions about and got no response.
[Editor's note/clarification: NCPR attempted to question Rep. Stefanik about this issue in a Twitter response to her tweet, not through normal channels involving her staff. This was an oversight on our part. We have since made inquiries directly to the Congresswoman's office and will update as more information becomes available.]
UPDTE: On Tuesday, Rep. Stefanik voted in favore of a resolution condemning Rep. King's statements about white supremacy. Her office sent NCPR a prepared statement from the Congresswoman:
Rep. Elise Stefanik: “Along with the vast majority of my colleagues, I voted in favor of the resolution condemning Steve King’s rhetoric today. Additionally, I was a cosponsor on the censure resolution, introduced by Congressman Tim Ryan. As I’ve said publicly before, there is absolutely no place in Congress, or in our country, for the scourge of white supremacy.”
Martha: Okay, we'll keep working to sort through where North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik stands on the border wall and immigration and the government shutdown as this continues.
